Where It All Started (with Demons)
by MarkiplierMultiverse
Summary: Sequel to: City of Angels (and Demons). A Markiplier/Supernatural crossover. After supposedly disposing of Darkiplier, Sam and Dean left Los Angeles. Darkiplier, living as Mark, remained in hiding until he was ready. Mark, trapped in another world, seeks help from Celine to find a way out. COMPLETE. Book Two of the Demons Trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

**Previously on Supernatural...**

Mark had been in a car accident...

Mark wasn't going to make it...

"Certain experiments have been done in the past...The percentage rate of recovery is high, but...it comes at a high price...You might risk going against his wishes."

Amy signed her name...

 _"You chose life over death for him...Handing him over to me. Now, it's only fair that you get to decide what happens next."_

"You really are fine?"

"I feel like I could take over the world." The color of his eyes changed from normal to solid black.

"The City of Angels. Otherwise known as the place demons go to fit in."

"Seven car accidents. Seven patients of the same age, height, and build. All taken care of by Drs. Cook, Bates, and Clyde."

 _"Darkiplier spread his energy to keep the others going..."_

 _"We set it up...He wants something more...I'd already be dead, like the others."_

"She promised she could help them..."

Chica noticed that Mark was standing there...she gave a fearful whine then started barking at him.

 _Chica was the first to know Mark wasn't Mark anymore._

 _...the Chica Test._

"He was meant to survive...That he had a greater plan."

"His name is Darkiplier. And the lore behind him can get pretty messed up."

 _There's no use fighting._

 _Soon._

 _And then it'll be forever._

Mark Fischbach was standing there...Even if his eyes hadn't been solid black, Dean could actually feel that Darkiplier had taken over.

"We have finally found his vessel...Only a matter of time before Darkiplier rises and claims this realm as his own."

 _"Did you ever stop and think about why he needed that hospital?...He needed the hospital and Bates to take care of his body."_

...To find Dark on the bed with Amy pinned beneath him...Dean didn't waste time. He just pulled the trigger.

Dark was standing...his side covered in blood...When Dark's eyes turned a solid black, Dean fired again...

 _"He was going to rape me and I didn't know. I had to watch him get shot then get up like nothing happened."_

Mark had let Dark take over...

Dark needed him weakened. Needed Mark to need him.

 _I no longer need your permission._

Leaving him in complete and total darkness. An unnatural darkness. A work of Darkiplier.

Mark wanted Dean to kill Dark...Dean could imagine the war he was going through right now.

"Go to hell."

"Believe me, I would. But your Hunter buddies won't allow it. Looks like I'm here to stay."

 _Amy still wasn't sure of what Sam and Dean had planned. They could say they were going to save Mark, but how could she be sure?_

Someone was coming and he knew who it was...

Crowley.

 _"I let him out into the world, after all...Fischbach caught his interest. Little bastard was obsessed."_

"Dark went through a hell of a time to get Mark. He'll just come back for more...And it'd be worse next time."

Dark had a body.

And they could trap him there.

Amy looked at her phone when she got a text...Dark was asking her to meet up with him.

 _"Is Mark in trouble?"_

 _"In a way...That's why I have to see him."_

Sam didn't have time...but sent it to his own email, along with other Darkiplier files Dr. Bates had accumulated.

"There's a choice to make...I take Mark with me or I trap him in that body."

"Do it!"

Dark placed his hand on the chest of the body...Dark looked drained, but recovering...A look of surprise coming to his face as Castiel stabbed him...

Then there was nothing but silence.

There was no sign of Dark.

"I was so afraid I'd lose you."

"I'd never let him take me from you. I'm here now."

"Why he came after you?"

"It felt like I had done something to him. He wanted to get back at me."

...Watched as the impala faded from view...As Mark turned to close the door...Dark smiled, his eyes turning a solid black...

"I'm Celine. And I'm afraid you're trapped here. Forever."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This is the sequel to my story City of Angels (and Demons). If you haven't read the first one, I advise you to read that before coming here. If you've read everything so far, would you guys like me to update this more often instead of just on Saturdays or Sundays? If I'm unable to write a lot during the week, the normal Saturday or Sunday update schedule will remain. I'd just like to hear your thoughts. :) I'll have the first chapter of this up sometime this week. Enjoy the story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** As a fill-in to explain what's what with some things. This story is set during the first couple episodes of Supernatural season 13. Castiel and Crowley are dead(Castiel killed by Lucifer, Crowley sacrificing himself for the team.) That's all you really need to know about the Supernatural side of things since other parts of season 13 won't be in this story. And since I've got Celine in this story, this fic will be touching on some things from Who Killed Markiplier. If you have any questions, just ask and I'll do my best to answer them. Enjoy the story!

* * *

 **Chapter One**

The car had been going several miles over the speed limit as the driver ran the red light. Mark didn't see it coming, didn't even know what had happened until he woke up in the hospital four days later, recovering from surgery. But his dreams became plagued by the memory of the accident. Mark had thought it had been Darkiplier feeding him those images, slowly driving him to the point of breaking. But, Dark was no longer here and he was still having those same dreams.

The driver, Mark learned later from being trapped in Dark's mind, had been killed on impact, almost taking Mark with him. The driver had been one of the seven patients who went through "experimental surgery" performed by Dr. Laurie Bates. Each of those six patients were used by Dark just to get to Mark. Unnecessary sacrifices. Mark had never met any of them, but he would have given himself over to Dark if that could have saved their lives. They were all dead because of him.

"The past is the past. Time to let it go."

Mark was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of Celine's voice. Ever since she had given him the news that he was trapped here, wherever "here" was, forever, he had been trying to avoid her. And it had worked for a while. But the longer he was here, the more hopeless he felt about anything, including avoiding Celine.

He didn't even know how long he had been here. Celine said time worked differently here. What if he was too late and there was no way of getting home? Dark was running around in his body, in his life... What if there was now nothing to go back to?

"Enough with the what ifs!" Celine said, coming around to stand in front of Mark, who was sitting on the floor, staring ahead. "It'll be better for the both of us if you just accept where you are. You have no idea what kind of influence your thoughts can have in this place."

"Why does it matter?" Mark asked. "If this is what death is like -"

"But you're not dead," Celine said. "Not in the same way you think." She sighed then sat down on the floor in front of him. "What do you remember before coming here?"

Without needing to think about it, he remembered that moment in the gas station. He could do nothing but watch during that time. Dark had full control. But then Dark was gone and Mark was himself again.

Then the angel Castiel was there, driving a blade into Mark. Mark could remember pain then nothing. And then he had woken up here.

"It was Dark's plan all along," Mark said, finally looking at Celine. "To have me trapped here." Celine nodded. "But why? What could I have possibly done to him?"

"Not you, specifically," Celine said. "There's a lot more to Dark than you think." She rose to her feet. "And maybe one day I'll tell you." She turned and left.

Mark thought about going after her, but knew she wouldn't tell him more until she wanted to. He wanted to know the answer, but didn't want to get too distracted.

He needed to find a way out of here.

* * *

Darkiplier had been living as Mark Fischbach for months now. And that pretending had been aggravating even if it had been necessary. He didn't want to do anything that would bring those Winchesters back. And that hadn't yet happened because of the price Dark was still paying to keep this ruse going.

The King of Hell, Crowley, was keeping Hunters, Angels, and even other demons off Dark's trail. If Dark did things for him. Sometimes Crowley just checked up on him. Other times Crowley gave Dark some asinine errand to run. And Dark did as he was told. But not because he was afraid of Crowley ruining everything. He did as he was told to wait for the right moment to strike. And that moment was soon.

Or so he had thought.

Dark had arrived at the requested place to receive whatever order Crowley had in store for him. After the first couple of times, Crowley stopped meeting Dark personally, but sent the same demon lowlife to do Crowley's bidding. And it was what that demon said that changed everything:

"Crowley's dead."

"Good to know," Dark said, using one finger to lift a stifling darkness that would put this demon under his control. "What does that mean for me?"

Dark didn't need to put this demon in his control. The demon already looked scared shitless. Dark let the darkness dissipate. "With Crowley gone," the demon stuttered. "If anyone knows you're here...and wanted you gone...there's nothing to stop them."

Dark wasn't worried. The only ones who wanted him gone didn't even know he was still here. Dark hadn't made an enemy of anyone else. Yet. "If you hear anything, keep me posted," he said then turned and left.

* * *

Sam Winchester was up early. He got himself some breakfast then sat down at his computer to scout out a new case. He knew Dean needed a distraction and it had been a while since only the two of them had been out hunting like they used to.

After a while of searching for a case, Sam got distracted by an email from Amy Nelson. It was an update email on how things were going in L.A. Mark was still adjusting, but things were okay, almost like normal. She didn't mention if Mark was still having dreams, but he was obviously getting used to the new body.

Well, new to him since it had once been Darkiplier's body. Dark had transferred Mark's essence to that body right before Castiel killed Dark.

Cas... It had been a long time since that day in L.A. Castiel was dead, killed by Lucifer.

"Anymore coffee?" Dean asked, walking into the room. Sam was sitting at the table in the bunker's kitchen.

"Plenty more," Sam said. "Guess who I just heard from?"

Dean made himself a cup of coffee. "The pizza guy?" he asked. "I called them like an hour ago. We better get some free pizza."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Amy," he said then elaborated when Dean looked confused. "Nelson? From Los Angeles?"

Realization dawned on Dean. "That Darkiplier case," he said, sitting down across from Sam. "You've been emailing another guy's girlfriend? Scandalous, Sammy."

Sam ignored him. "She said Mark was doing fine, but still adjusting," he said. "She moved in with him to be there for him more."

"She wasn't living with him before?"

"She was living with someone Mark hired, a new editor," Sam said. "Kathryn. Mark also hired a friend of his from Ohio, Tyler Scheid and another YouTuber, Ethan Nestor. She says they keep him grounded."

Dean reached across the table to eat off Sam's plate. "Nothing about Darkiplier?" he asked around chewing.

"She didn't mention him," Sam said. "But she did mention the angel that possessed Felix."

"What'd you tell her?"

"That she didn't have to worry about him," Sam said. "Sounded better than the truth."

After they had left L.A., they had gotten a call from Castiel, who had been taking Felix home to Brighton. It turned out that the "angel" had actually been a demon sent by Lucifer to keep an eye on Crowley. Cas had taken care of the demon, kept Felix safe, and as far as they knew, Lucifer hadn't heard anything about Darkiplier.

Unless he had, then Darkiplier wasn't as important to Lucifer as Crowley had once made him out to be. But, Sam and Dean had known Crowley had been lying. But with Darkiplier presumed dead, how could they know what Lucifer thought?

And with Crowley now dead, the only information they had on Darkiplier were the files Sam had gotten from the computer of Dr. Laurie Bates, whose dream was to rule by Dark's side. She had gotten killed by him instead.

"You should've told her nothing," Dean said. "She's got a life to live."

"She was just curious, Dean."

Dean finished his coffee and stood up. "Tell her if we're ever in California again, we'll stop by for a visit," he said. "Only to check on Mark."

"Already told her," Sam said. "We can have friends who aren't hunters, Dean."

"Not if they get killed because of us," Dean said then left the room.

Sam looked back at the computer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two**

When Amy arrived at the office, Markiplier HQ as they had dubbed it, she was surprised to see that Mark wasn't there yet. Everyone else was steady with work. She texted Mark as she sat down at her desk. She had been up when he had left this morning, so something must have happened. She was hoping he was just going to get some breakfast, but Tyler was usually the one to fetch the food.

Before her mind could start wandering with what could have happened, Mark texted back, letting her know he was on his way. He didn't explain where he had gone. She didn't push the issue. The last year had been rough for him. She couldn't imagine how tough adjusting to a normal life again could be after what he had been through last year.

First it was the accident. Then the hospital stay. Then trying to adjust while Darkiplier ate away at his sanity.

Good thing Dark was dead.

She had to believe that because anything else was unthinkable. She wanted to forget about those few days.

But then it all came back when she got an email from Sam Winchester. He had been emailing her off and on since he and Dean left. To check up on Mark, but after the first few emails, they started talking and Amy considered Sam a good friend. Other than getting Mark back intact and alive, gaining a friendship with Sam was something good that came out of that horror with Darkiplier.

And then there was what Dark had done for her. Replacing the memory of being raped to Mark's gentle touch. She knew what Dark had done to her, but she thankfully couldn't remember what it felt like.

Thanks to Dark. Amy would never know why he had done that. But, that meeting with Dark still didn't make sense sometimes. Why had he gone through so much trouble to get Mark then do so much to get her to decide to save him?

Amy closed out of the email when she heard Mark's voice. He didn't know she was emailing Sam. She was afraid that if the Winchesters came up, it would only bring bad memories up. Mark wanted to forget about those days as much as she did.

"You sound like you're in a good mood," Ethan said when Mark walked in.

"I am in a good mood," Mark said, a smile on his face. "It's a beautiful day. We should enjoy it." He moved over to Amy, greeting her with a kiss.

"Where'd you go this morning?" Amy asked, swiveling her chair around as he grabbed a seat beside her.

"Just went on a little adventure," Mark said, placing a coffee down on her desk. "Your favorite."

Amy smiled with glee and picked up the coffee. "Your good mood is contagious," she said.

"It better be," Mark said. "I have the feeling that things are just about to get better."

* * *

Mark knew he was dreaming, yet could do nothing about it.

In the dream, he was leaving his house, going to pick up Felix at the airport. They never got to hang out for the week as planned. Mark had either been in the hospital or mentally wrestling with Dark. It had been on the way to the airport when the car hit Mark, running the red light.

He hadn't remembered any of it, but now in his dream, he was trapped in his car, his life slowly leaking away. He felt pain and then panic as he fought to move his limbs. It was then he noticed that he was pinned on every side, paralyzed. He could feel his heart pounding, pumping the life out of him.

He awoke with a cry, his chest heaving, an icy sweat covering his body. He started to calm down when he realized he could now move.

"You were calling out for help in your sleep," Celine said. Her sudden presence no longer startled Mark. He just assumed she would be there at every turn. "Was it the same nightmare?"

"It's always the same nightmare," Mark said, getting to his feet. If he didn't move, he would start feeling trapped and paralyzed again.

"I can help you."

"The only help I want is to get out of here," Mark said. Part of him feared that if he lost those nightmares, he would accept the predicament he was now in. He couldn't accept that because he didn't belong here.

"Unfortunately, I can't help with that."

Mark turned to her. "Why?" he asked. "You've been mysterious and vague since I've been here. Can't this be something you can give a direct answer for?"

Celine hesitated a moment then finally nodded. "I can't help because Dark is blocking me," she said. She went on before Mark could ask any questions. "This plane of existence is connected to the Multiverse. Meaning every path you could have or will take can be seen from here, by me. It was how Dark was able to travel between alternate universes. If I hadn't been here, he could have been stopped."

She paused to let that sink in then continued, "Dark knows I have the means to stop him from here. He's using that means against me by blocking off the universe you came from. If all you want is out, I can put you anywhere else but where you came from."

"Leaving Dark to do whatever he wants in _my_ life," Mark said.

"He's already been doing that," Celine said. "For close to a year now."

"How do you know that if you can't see him?"

"Because you're here and he's not."

"Is there a way to unblock it?"

"Not that I am capable of doing."

"Dammit," Mark muttered under his breath, turning away from Celine. He didn't want to lose hope, but every moment spent here...

"But there might be something you can do," Celine said, breaking into his thoughts. Mark turned back to her, waiting. "You just have to trust me."

What other choice did he have?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three**

With Crowley gone, Dark was free to do what he wanted. If he went about it the right way. If he played his cards too soon, he would alert the others and he was pretty sure Amy kept in contact with the Winchesters. He knew that it was just a friendly contact, but they must have talked about him at some point. If he suddenly did something different, the Winchesters would be alerted and they would have another repeat of last year.

And this time he wouldn't have Mark to take the fall for him.

He had to do a gradual change. He needed to get to the point where no one could do anything to stop him. He could have had a year to plan that if Crowley hadn't been looking over his shoulder, so to speak. He had the time now, but he wasn't going to wait another year.

"Mark!"

Breaking out of his thoughts, Dark looked over at Amy, who was standing with Ethan, Tyler, and Kathryn. They were all looking at him, expectantly. "What?" he asked.

"We're going out for lunch," Amy said. "You coming?" She was the most patient with him, which he could use to his advantage. She saw him as still adjusting to normal life in a "new body." She would notice any change, but mayhaps he could convince her that it was just him adjusting. That would be the easy part.

And Amy was so easy to sway when the Winchesters weren't involved.

"I'm gonna skip lunch today," Dark said. Mark was a workaholic, so he knew that wouldn't set off any warning bells. "You guys go ahead."

"You sure?" Amy asked. Dark nodded and the others filed out. "I'll grab you something and bring it back, okay? I love you." She turned and followed the others out.

Dark gave a wave, relieved that they were finally gone. Now that he could do what he wanted, the pretending was starting to weigh on him. He couldn't wait for much longer.

They needed to know that he was here.

* * *

As Mark followed after Celine, he got a better look around. He hadn't gotten the courage to leave the room he had been in since he got here. He was in a house, but it felt like he had stepped back in time. Everything had an old feel to it and the further he went in, the more the place started to look and feel like a castle.

"This place can take many forms," Celine said. She could have been feeling his thoughts again or she could have just been taking on the role of guide. "You think of this place as mysterious, so it shows you something mysterious."

"A spooky castle?" Mark asked, glancing around once again. He gave a nod. "Sounds like something I'd think of."

Celine stopped at a door and turned to him. "Does it have anything to do with you feeling like a prisoner?" she asked.

"Probably," Mark said. "This place might know me better than I do."

"You know more than you think," Celine said. She opened the door and gestured him through.

Mark glanced in through the doorway then started up the spiral staircase that led up to a tower. At the top, he expected outside, but the view he got was space. Millions of stars surrounded the castle. Mark could even identify galaxies. He was so awestruck that he nearly forgot where he was.

Celine reminded him: "This place wants you to feel comfortable. At home."

"That why you brought me out here?" Mark asked, still mesmerized by the view. "To forget that you said there was something I could do to get home?"

"I brought you out here to show you what your mind is capable of doing here," Celine said. Mark finally turned and looked at her. "Dark has blocked me from your universe, but I might be able to open a path using your memories."

"Might?"

"It's not exactly something I've done before." Celine moved to the center of the open-top tower and sat down on the floor, Indian style. She looked up at him. "Do you trust me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Yes," Celine said. "If there's no trust, it won't work. And you'll never get home." The way she said it was blunt, hardly any sympathy behind it.

Mark walked over and sat down in front of her. "You haven't really done anything to gain my trust," he said. "But if this'll work..."

Celine held her hands out for him to take. "Then let's build trust," she said. Mark hesitated a moment then took her hands.

 _And in his mind, he saw another world. He knew it wasn't his home because Celine was there. She was showing him a part of her life that he could feel she had shared with no one else._

 _He was surprised to see himself. Building a life with Celine. He saw love, he saw marriage..._

 _Then things changed. Celine and Mark were no longer together. She had run off with another man._

 _William..._

The connection broke and Mark was back on the tower under the stars.

"I'm not a part of this plane of existence either," Celine said. "Just like you, I wanted to get home. And just like you, Darkiplier prevented that. I've been here long enough to accept my fate. There was obviously a reason I never got home. I believe now that I was meant to help you."

Mark was silent for a few minutes. "What do you need me to do?" he asked, the question being his first sign of trust.

"Prepare your mind," Celine said. "Because you're going to be reliving what Dark did to you."

* * *

 _"With Crowley gone..._

 _"What is there to stop me?_

 _"I'm getting so close..._

 _"Never again."_

Sam couldn't remember dozing off, but he woke with a start, the dream fading away. But was it a dream or something else? It had been around ten years since he had his last vision, so it had to have been a dream. But the voice in his dream sounded like Darkiplier. But Darkiplier was dead. Right?

"You look like crap."

"Thanks, Dean," Sam said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before he got to his feet. He thought about talking to Dean about his dream, but what would that accomplish? Dean would only tell him that Darkiplier was dead and it had just been a dream. "Any case come up?"

Dean shook his head. "Everything's been pretty quiet," he said. He sounded really disappointed about that.

Sam thought for a moment then turned to Dean. "What if we take a trip to L.A.?" he asked. Dean raised his eyebrows. "You said it yourself that if we were ever in L.A. again -"

"Meaning if we ended up there, Sam," Dean said. "Not if we traveled there. We can't just pack up and leave on vacation. Or did you forget what we're in the middle of?"

A fight between good and evil, like they always were. Sam decided to come clean about his dream. "I think something's about to happen in California," he said. "I just had a dream -"

"A dream?" Dean asked. "Sam -"

"What if Darkiplier isn't dead?"

"You were there," Dean said. "Cas stabbed him with an angel blade. There's no surviving that. If he survived, where'd his body go?"

"If he died, where was his body?" Sam countered. "I know what happened last year, but I've got this gut feeling that something's not right."

"You got the email from Amy," Dean said. "She said everything was fine. Mark was adjusting. Everything's fine."

"Why is it taking him so long to adjust?" Sam asked. It was obvious Dean hadn't thought about that. "It's been months and he's still adjusting? Yeah, maybe Dark's dead, but he did something to Mark and I think it's only right that we be there to help him."

"Amy's got it under control," Dean said. His voice said that was that and there would be no arguing. Sam just nodded, giving up. Dean looked satisfied then went back to whatever he had been doing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Four**

Tyler, Ethan, and Kathryn had decided to stay and eat at the restaurant. Mostly because Amy had asked them to. Amy wanted to talk to Mark privately because she had the feeling that something happened this morning. She didn't really care if she was just being paranoid. It was better for her to listen to her gut feeling and address it than to just ignore it and let her imagination run wild. She needed to hear, from Mark, that things were okay.

Heading upstairs at the office, Amy slowed her pace when she heard Mark's voice. She didn't hear anyone else, so he was on the phone. She continued upstairs more quietly so as not to disturb the call, but then something made her stop.

"...to keep the Winchesters off my trail," Mark was saying. "Somewhere out east, you decide! Just make sure they stay out of my way... I'm not worried about them. I don't want another repeat of last time. I'm tired of pretending."

Without waiting to hear more, and afraid she would get caught, Amy turned and headed back downstairs. She was carrying takeout, so she couldn't reach her phone right away. And if she -

"Amy?"

Amy didn't make it to the door. She stopped and turned, seeing Mark coming downstairs, Chica following. "Where you going?" he asked. She couldn't tell if he knew she had overheard or not.

Dark was good at pretending.

She still had to try. "I think I left my phone in the car," she said. Before she could say or do anything else, he stepped toward her, taking her phone out of her pocket. She said nothing and just stared at it.

"Any more bright excuses?" he asked. He put her phone in his pocket and she knew he knew. "Let's go back upstairs and have some lunch." He gestured for her to go first.

Amy calculated her chances of making a run for it, but instead complied and headed upstairs.

The reality of her situation was starting to dawn on her. She had been living day by day watching Dark live as Mark. For nearly a year. If she hadn't decided to bring him lunch now, she never would have known. Not until he wanted her to. What else would he have done before then?

Upstairs, Dark took the takeout from her and gestured for her to sit. Amy sat down without a word. Nothing she said would help anyway. Dark placed the food down then looked at her.

"Ask your questions," he said. "I bet you're just dying to know how."

"Is Mark dead?" Amy asked, remembering that moment when the angel Castiel plunged a blade into Dark's chest. If she had known that that had actually been Mark...

"He might as well be," Dark said. "Trapped for eternity. I was going to give him back, I really was. If you have him swimming around in your brain, you start developing a soft spot for people. It's sickening. But good thing your hunter friends showed up. They put Mark where I planned on putting him when I showed up."

Amy stayed silent, processing this new information. From what she could understand, it sounded like Mark had been influencing Dark's decisions. Dark had a human side? It explained why he hadn't killed Ryan and why he had replaced Amy's memories. And why he gave her the choice to save Mark.

Then Sam and Dean had showed up and ruined everything.

"But why?" Amy asked. "He didn't do anything to you!"

"He took everything from me!" Dark said, his outburst startling Amy. He lost control for only a moment. "So I took everything from him."

"And did that make you feel any better?" Amy asked. "He's not here, so how can you take glory in it if you can't gloat over it?"

Dark leaned forward toward her. "He'll find a way out, he always does, it's an endless cycle," he said. "When he gets back, he'll have nothing."

Amy knew that was intended to scare her and it did, but she needed to show strength. "One more question," she said when he stepped away from her. "How are you fooling Chica? She sniffed you out last time."

"I became Mark," Dark said and left the explanation as that. "Thanks to you getting back early, I don't have to pretend anymore." He smiled. "You're gonna wish you hadn't come back so soon."

* * *

Mark didn't like the idea of reliving anything that had happened with Dark, but he was still willing to pay that price if it meant getting back home. And remembering what Dark had done and tried to do to those he cared about, he didn't want to think about what could be happening right now.

"Are you ready?" Celine asked. They were still sitting under the stars on the tower. She reached over and took his hands. "Concentrate and don't leave out any detail."

Mark nodded, readying himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tried to concentrate on Dark, but all he could see in his mind's eye was the car accident. And that paralyzed feeling that threatened to overtake him even now while he was wide awake.

"Fight it," Celine said, her grip on his hands tightening, letting him know he wasn't alone. "Move past the accident. Let go of that pain."

No matter how much he fought against it, Mark couldn't move past it. The feeling was too constricting. He suddenly had trouble breathing, his body paralyzed.

Mark opened his eyes and stood up, backing away from Celine. The view around them was no longer the stars of space. Everything was fire. Celine didn't look worried about the fire, which helped Mark remember that it wasn't real. It was just what his mind was projecting.

"Let me help you," Celine said, standing in front of him. "I can give you a temporary fix for the memory of the accident. It'll come back, but I can hold it at bay until we get you home."

"No," Mark said, shaking his head. "I need to work past it on my own. I don't want to run the risk of it coming back in the middle of something."

Celine nodded, accepting his decision. "Were you having dreams like these before now?" she asked.

"It was never this bad," Mark said. He could remember waking up sweating and shaking, but the memory of the accident faded quickly once he was awake. He would rather have those dreams back.

Celine took his hand, placing her palm against his. She was silent for a while then her eyes met his. "Dark messed with your memories," she said. "He knew what I planned on doing." She let go of his hand.

"What does that mean?" Mark asked. "Can't you still use my memories?"

"And risk paralyzing you?" Celine said then shook her head. "What you feel when you think about the accident is what Dark put there. As a failsafe against me."

"But I can work through it."

"I don't know if you can," Celine said then turned and headed back downstairs.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Five**

Amy had expected something to happen, but when Ethan, Tyler, and Kathryn got back, Dark still kept up with pretending to be Mark. She couldn't figure out what he was planning. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. So she was afraid to say anything.

But watching him go about the day as Mark was painful to see. Especially with the knowledge that it had been nearly a year. How could she have been so blind? She should have noticed something. But she had been too relieved at having Mark back.

Amy now understood why Dark had replaced her memories of him raping her. It wasn't because Mark had influenced Dark's decisions on that matter. It was so she wouldn't be able to recognize the look in his eyes.

Dark still had her phone, but she needed to contact Sam and Dean. She couldn't use email because Dark could easily monitor that. She needed a more subtle way so she didn't tip him off.

Amy stood up, seeing Dark occupied with talking to Ethan. She walked over to Kathryn. "Can I borrow your phone?" she asked. "I seem to have lost mine and I need to make a call."

"Sure," Kathryn said, pulling out her phone and handing it over. "I saw you had your phone at lunch. Maybe you left it there?"

"Maybe," Amy said, stepping out of the room. She knew Dark would be listening, so she needed to be careful.

When Sam answered, she didn't give him time to say anything. "Hi, this is Amy. We spoke earlier this morning. I'm calling to ask about an item I had ordered?"

"Amy?" Sam asked. "What's going on?" The tone of his voice told her that he had picked up on the fact that something wasn't right. Good.

"It was a makeup kit," Amy went on, noticing Dark looking her way through the doorway. "I changed my mind about the color. I want the _dark_ purple." She put just the slightest bit of emphasis on "dark."

"We'll be there," Sam said.

"Awesome!" Amy said, relieved but she remembered to act like a satisfied customer. "When can I expect it to arrive?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Amy said. She turned and saw Dark standing there. "Bye." She hung up.

"Important phone call?" Dark asked.

"I was ordering something," Amy said. "A new makeup kit."

"You had to leave the room for that?"

"I didn't want to disturb anyone," Amy said. She held the phone out to him, banking on him thinking she wouldn't hand over the phone if she was calling for help. "Wanna call and check up on me?" Sam would cover for her, she knew.

Fortunately Dark didn't take the phone, which meant he bought her phony story. "When does it arrive?" he asked.

"It doesn't," Amy said. "I have to pick it up. Pay there. Care to join me?"

"I've got work," Dark said. The suspicion she saw in his eyes was gone. She had pulled it off. "Have fun." He went back into the other room.

Amy allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief.

* * *

Sam wasn't too surprised when his phone started ringing. He had left messages all around to other hunters in hopes of picking up a new case. What surprised him was when he answered, Amy's voice came over the line. And didn't make any sense.

"Hi, this is Amy. We spoke earlier this morning. I'm calling to ask about an item I had ordered?"

"Amy?" Sam got Dean's attention. He put the phone on speaker and set it on the table. "What's going on?" She wasn't calling from her phone, so this wasn't an accident. Something was up.

"It was a makeup kit," Amy went on. "I changed my mind about the color. I want the dark purple." There was just enough emphasis on the word for Sam to understand.

Dark was back.

Sam looked at Dean. Neither of them liked the fact that Sam had been right. "We'll be there," Sam said.

"Awesome! When can I expect it to arrive?"

Dean was already getting ready to go. "Tomorrow morning," Sam told her.

"Thank you," Amy said. She said bye and hung up pretty quickly. Sam hoped she was okay.

"Well, you were hoping for a case," Dean said. "Let's go."

Sam nodded and grabbed his phone, following Dean out.

But before they made it out the door, Sam and Dean were both brought to a halt by some unseen force. Before they could say anything, the room appeared to bend around them.

Then they vanished.

* * *

After Celine went back downstairs, Mark had some time to think. But first he needed to get the view of space back, so he started to try and clear his mind. He avoided thinking about the accident and soon the fire was gone. But instead of space, he saw a panoramic view of Los Angeles.

He could see whatever he wanted, essentially do what he wanted. Why did he need to go back?

Because it was his life. And right now, Dark was living it. There was no telling what shape it was in.

Celine had said she could use his memories, so he needed to prove that she still could. He pushed the memory of the accident aside and focused.

The view around him changed once again and he saw himself in the hospital, Amy at his side. He felt a pang at seeing her, but moved on. He saw himself leaving the hospital, stopping when he saw Sam and Dean Winchester move past him in the memory.

He had known them as FBI agents, but Dark had known who they were. What they were. And they had done their best to stop Dark and save him. Did they know they hadn't done either? He wished he could tell them. Then Amy would at least have some form of protection.

 _What your mind can do..._

Remembering what Celine had said, he wondered if he had any influence on the real world. There was only one way to find out...

He focused his thoughts, remembering how it felt when Celine had been holding his hands to use his memories. And suddenly something happened and he could feel power surging through him.

He hadn't heard Celine return, but she was calling his name now. But it was too late.

The world bent around him and he was back in the room he had woke up in. The only difference was...

Sam and Dean Winchester were now here with him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Six**

Sam and Dean had been through enough to keep from being disoriented for too long. Dean's first thought was that Dark had brought them here. And when he turned and saw Dark, that was confirmed. Sam was on the same wavelength because as Dean was pulling out his gun, Sam was pulling out his.

But then Dark let out a "Whoa!" and hurried around the corner and out of sight. Taking cover?

Dean looked at Sam. Without a word, Sam put his gun away. "You can come out," he said, putting away his own gun.

He was still ready for anything, but if Dark had brought them here, he wouldn't have turned and run. Unless otherwise proven, this was Mark.

Mark poked his head around the corner, but didn't walk back in until he made sure the guns were put away. And as Mark walked in, a woman showed up, stopping when she saw Sam and Dean.

A woman that definitely wasn't Amy. And then Dean noticed that they weren't in Mark's house.

"Where are we?" Sam asked, speaking Dean's thoughts as well.

"A plane of existence between alternate universes," Mark said in a "don't-ask-me-to-explain-further" tone.

Dean wasn't even going to pretend to understand, but he wasn't going to ask endless questions. It didn't seem like Mark knew anything else besides what he just said.

"And it turns out that Dark took control of his original body when the angel came up..." Mark mimed stabbing himself. "I ended up here."

Dean had a fleeting thought that he was glad Castiel was gone. Cas hadn't needed an innocent murder on his shoulders on top of everything else he had dealt with before Lucifer killed him.

"Then you've been here for nearly a year?!" Sam asked. That just now occurred to Dean. "While Dark -"

"And Dark's making a move," Dean said. He looked at Mark. "Whatever you did that brought us here -"

"No," the woman said, moving to stand in front of Mark. "What he tapped into can turn catastrophic if he does it again."

"Who the hell are you?" Dean demanded. He didn't like being told what could or could not happen. Especially when lives were on the line.

"She's a Seer," Sam piped in. Dean looked at him like 'how did you know THAT?' Sam shrugged. "I just have that feeling."

Dean looked back at the woman. "Seer or not -"

"The door Mark opened to get you here is closed anyway," she said. She looked behind her at Mark. "You have no idea what you could have done."

Mark looked at her. "You were going to do the same -"

"No, I wasn't," she said. "Leave it to me. I won't watch you fall again." She turned back to Sam and Dean, ignoring the confusion on Mark's face. "There's no way back. For the time being."

"Did you not hear me?" Dean said. "Dark is making a move. Amy called us for help -"

"For help?" Mark asked, a new look on his face. It had been clear he had been worried for Amy, but he obviously hadn't known the extent of things until now. "Celine -"

"We can't help them," Celine said. "Especially in the mental state you're in now. Remember the tower -"

"Amy needs help!"

"We'll get to her," Sam said, doing his thing to calm the situation. "From what she said, she's not in immediate danger. We've still got time." They didn't know exactly what was happening with Amy, but if Mark had brought them here, they needed Mark clearheaded to get back.

"Let's just focus on getting out of here for now," Dean said, relieved to see Mark calming down. He looked at Celine. "What'd you mean by Mark opening a door?"

"As Mark said, we're in a plane of existence between alternate universes," Celine said. "From here, I can see the different realities Mark could have lived in. You came from the universe Dark has blocked me from." She gestured to Mark. "Where he comes from."

Dean was still confused by it all. "You can only see Mark's different universes?"

"It's the way Dark wanted it."

"Dark made this place?" Sam asked.

Celine looked hesitant about sharing. "Before Dark became Dark," she said. "This was just a house. A dangerous house, but still a house. Then it started feeding on Dark's revenge against Mark and it became the doorway to alternate universes."

"So Dark could have his revenge against every alternate Mark that might exist?" Dean asked. "His schedule must be full." Sam gave him a look, but Dean ignored it. "What could Mark have done to make Dark so pissed off at all the alternate versions of Mark?" Mark looked like he wanted the answer to that more than anyone else.

"Betrayal and it goes much deeper than that," Celine said. "But that has nothing to do with right now. By bringing you here, Mark has proven that there's a way out. But to tap into that kind of power..."

"Might do more bad than good," Mark said. He had felt that kind of power and it had obviously scared him. But Dean could tell that that taste hadn't been enough.

"Then focus on the good part," Dean said. "We don't have all the time in the world."

"But we literally do, Dean," Sam said. He looked at Celine. "Time doesn't work the same here, right?" She nodded to let him know he was right. He looked at Mark. "How long do you think you've been here? Ignoring the fact that you know it's been a year."

"I've lost all sense of time," Mark said. "But it doesn't feel like I've been here as long as I have. Sometimes it feels like I just got here."

"That will soon fade," Celine said. Dean got the feeling that she had been stuck here for a long time. "I need a moment." She turned and left.

"She does that," Mark said, looking after her then he looked at Dean. "You said Amy called for help..." He sounded calmer, but Dean didn't want to say anything to rile him up again.

"From the way she spoke, Dark doesn't know she called us," Dean said. "Which means Dark's biding his time. Again."

"He wants to make my life hell," Mark said. "I stopped him from doing so much -"

"We'll get there in time," Sam said. "We always do." Dean said nothing, but he knew Sam knew there were plenty of times in their lives when they had been too late. That wasn't something to tell Mark. At least, not right now.

After everything that happened last time with Darkiplier, being too late now meant everything before had been for nothing.

Dean hoped they wouldn't be too late.

* * *

Amy had spent the night at Kathryn's. Spending a night with Dark...knowing he was Dark, was just too much for her. And she couldn't bring herself to confide in Kathryn because she knew she wouldn't believe her. Matt and Ryan never did. Why would it be any different now?

They would all know soon, based off what Dark had told her. And by then, getting everyone to believe was pointless. It would be too late for them all.

But Sam and Dean were coming. She just had to wait until morning.

Everything would be okay.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the late update. I was sick for a week, but I'm back! :)

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

It was the next morning and Mark -DARK, she reminded herself coldly- was filming a video in the other room. Still pretending that nothing was different. Amy couldn't understand it. He had told her that he didn't have to pretend anymore. That she'd wish she hadn't found out the truth so soon. So what was he doing?

Last year, Dark hadn't bothered pretending to be Mark. Of course, back then Mark had still been there. What did he have to gain now? Why did he keep pretending?

Amy had the sudden urge to confront him about it, but she told herself to wait for Sam and Dean. They were on their way, everything would be fixed.

But it was close to noon now and Sam had promised they would be here by morning.

Should she take matters into her own hands?

If Dark decided to act now, could she honestly just stand by and do nothing?

Amy suddenly got to her feet, relieved to see everyone turn and look at her. "You guys go ahead and go to lunch," she said. "You deserve the break."

"Break?" Ethan asked. "Why does it suddenly feel like we're being fired?"

"It's not that," Amy said. "I just need you to leave now. While Mark's filming."

"Amy, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Something happen between you and Mark?" Kathryn asked. "Is that why you slept over at my place?"

"Yes," Amy said, a perfectly reasonable excuse landing at her feet. "I need to talk to him. Privately."

"You heard the lady," Ethan said, getting to his feet. "Let's give the lovebirds some space." Them thinking she would be making up with "Mark" sickened her at the moment. She already felt violated enough knowing it had been Dark this entire time.

Amy sat back down as Ethan, Tyler, and Kathryn left. It took her a few minutes to build up the courage to stand up again. Sam and Dean might still be on their way and delayed somewhere, but she had to do something before it was too late.

Right?

Amy went into the other room where Dark was filming, not surprised to find that he wasn't. What surprised her was the man he was talking to. She hadn't seen him come in. But she had seen enough last year to guess that the man was one of Dark's demon buddies. She didn't recognize him, so it wasn't Crowley. And Sam had told her in one of his emails that Crowley was dead.

The way Dark moved, he was aware of Amy's presence, but he ignored her otherwise. He said a few more words to the man and the man was gone the next second, disappeared. Dark then turned to her.

"You didn't have to chase everyone away, you know," he said. So he knew what happened in the other room. "Expecting company?" She had dodged around that yesterday, so he didn't know. But it was reasonable for him to suspect something.

"Who was that?" Amy asked, avoiding the question. She knew that would make him suspect more, but maybe he would slip up if he thought something would happen. And if Sam and Dean didn't show up...

No. They were coming. Sam said so.

"Since you already know everything else, I might as well tell you," Dark said. Part of her wished she never knew, but the other part wished she knew more. "That was my spy, giving me insider information on Things Going On in the World. And Beneath. There's already a new King of Hell in charge, but thankfully I'm not worth fretting over."

"You're worried about someone finding out about you," Amy guessed. The look in his eyes said she was right. "You don't want to bring attention to yourself." Some things made sense to her now. "Why?"

Dark looked like he wasn't going to say anything at first. But maybe he thought about the fact that he would end up killing her anyway. So what was the harm? "I'm not from here," he said. "If you've noticed, I can do things the demons from here can't." He could manipulate the room around him. She had called it the "Upside Down" like in Stranger Things. "If they find out, I'll suddenly become important. I can open doors to different universes."

"And what if no one cares?"

"They'll care," Dark said. "And then you'd have more to worry about than me just trying to ruin Mark's life."

Amy let that sink in for a moment, possibilities running through her mind. "If Hell found out you can open doors to different universes..."

"This world could be overrun by millions of hellish creatures from other universes," Dark filled in for her. "It only delays the inevitable for you, but it changes nothing. I've still got plenty of time."

"Mark has surprised you before," Amy said. Wherever he trapped Mark, Dark knew he would eventually get out. He told her that yesterday. "Don't forget that you almost lost last year."

"Almost," Dark said. "I got exactly what I wanted in the end."

"Was it worth it?" Amy asked. "Is it worth having to look over your shoulder every day to make sure Hell doesn't sniff you out while you make Mark's life a living hell? Why not just kill him and then leave?"

"He deserves to suffer like we all did!" Dark said, his eyes going dark with hate. "It doesn't matter if he did nothing. Deep down, he's just the same as the rest."

"The rest?" Amy asked. He could open the door to different universes... "How many Marks have you done this to?" It was weird to think that way, but if different realities existed, different Marks did as well.

"Does it matter?" Dark asked. "This has just been the first one that's fought back."

Amy, finding a bravery somewhere, stepped forward toward Dark. "You have this desire for revenge," she said. "You probably know better than I do, but there's an endless supply of alternate universes, alternate Marks. You might wipe out a few of them, but you've already lost. Mark will keep going no matter what you've done or will do."

His eyes bore into hers, but she refused to back down. "You think you're getting to me," he growled.

"I know I am," Amy said. "The longer you stay here, the more your plan falls apart. Hell will find out and whoever's in charge now will come after you for their own gain. And then, as you said, Mark will find a way out. And if everyone he loves is gone, because of you, that'll just make him fight back more."

Dark reached out and grabbed Amy by the throat. She knew he was beyond pissed as his eyes turned a solid black. She grabbed his arm as he began to squeeze. She knew there was nothing she could do, but he would kill her knowing she wasn't afraid. That what she had said was true.

A feeling that everything would be okay came over her and she smiled as her vision grew darker.

Then Dark let go. Amy fell back, gulping in lungfuls of air, a hand gently against her throbbing neck. She looked up at Dark.

"I haven't lost," he said then left.

* * *

Mark sat in a room with Sam and Dean, but his thoughts were on Celine and everything she had implied about the Mark she knew. Specifically: I won't watch you fall again. What had she meant by that? She hadn't meant an actual, literal fall, he knew, but there was something...

Then he remembered that power surge right before he brought Sam and Dean here. It had only lasted a brief moment, but if felt...

 _I want to feel that again._

"Hey!"

Mark turned his head to see Sam and Dean both looking at him. At first he thought he had manipulated the environment again, but the room was the same as always. Good. They had no idea what had just been on his mind.

Maybe that wasn't a good thing.

"She knows something that could get us out of here," Dean said, talking as if they hadn't just needed to pull Mark back into the conversation. "I don't trust her."

"She said Dark blocked her from our universe," Sam said. "She knows more than we do because she lives here. If anything, that's a cause to trust her."

"She's hiding something," Dean said then looked at Mark. "She ever been in a sharing mood?"

Mark thought back to the vision she showed him of her past. "She only shares when she needs you to trust her," he said. She said she was here to help him, yet she had gone against that more often than anything. He was starting to think she didn't want him gone. "Why would Dark block her and not me?"

The question had come out of nowhere and Mark realized too late that he had said it out loud. Sam and Dean just looked at him, saying nothing.

"This place is a doorway to different dimensions of MY universe," Mark said. "So I'm connected to this place somehow. I can't be the only Mark that can tap into the power of it. Dark was in my head. He knows what I'm capable of. If he wanted me trapped here, he would've blocked me from getting back. But he just blocks Celine and assumes I won't figure it out?"

"That just proves she's hiding something," Dean said.

"I don't think Dark blocked her," Mark said. "She kept stressing the point that time doesn't work the same here, but she knew how long Dark has been living as me."

"So what?" Sam asked. "She doesn't want you to go back?"

Even though she wasn't in the same room, Mark knew she was listening. And she wanted to talk now.

Mark stood and left without uttering a word.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Eight**

She had gotten to him.

Dark could try and avoid the truth for as long as he could, but things had already fallen apart. Ever since he had decided to start pretending to be Mark a year ago.

Because of her.

Dark closed himself off in the bathroom, wasting no time in punching his fist through the mirror. The sound of broken glass and the painful throbbing in his hand brought him into focus. He lowered his hand, ignoring the pain as he looked at his reflection in the broken mirror.

The glass distorted his reflection, turning his grimace into a smile. Making him look more like Mark.

Like Mark...

This wasn't even Mark's body. Where Dark came from, it hadn't occurred to anyone that he looked exactly like Mark. They weren't even closely related. But, here in this world, things were different.

 _He_ was different.

Dark looked away from the mirror and focused on his hand, which was already healing. He pulled a few shards of glass out then ran his hand under water, focusing on the blood mixing with the water and flowing down the drain. It wasn't long before the water ran clear and his hand was good as new. He turned off the water.

His thoughts returned to Amy. He had watched her closely this past year to make sure she didn't see through his disguise. And she hadn't. Because he had become Mark. He knew how to act. It had been so easy. He had even fooled the dog.

He had grown comfortable in his life as Mark.

Because of Amy.

Dark held his hand, palm out, toward the mirror, shattering the rest of the fragmented glass. He lowered his hand as glass rained down onto the sink.

"It would be more productive to turn that anger against Mark's friends."

Dark didn't have to turn to know who was there. The demon he had been speaking with ever since he got news of Crowley's death. Armen-something. Dark didn't really care what his name was.

"Our business is done for the day," Dark said. He turned to face the demon.

"Yes, but what you just did lit you up like a beacon," the demon said. "If Lord Asmodeus had noticed -"

"Who?"

"Asmodeus," the demon said, sounding surprised that Dark didn't know who he was talking about. "The current King of Hell?"

Dark knew he needed to stay off Hell's radar, but he wasn't going to let someone's warning be the reason he didn't use his powers. As long as Crowley hadn't told anyone who he was, Dark was safe for the time being. He wasn't scared of whatever this Asmodeus could do. "I've got a lot on my plate right now," he said, Amy's words distracting him from everything else. "Maybe you could help me."

Armen looked worried for a moment. "O-of course," he stammered. "I'd be happy to."

"Great," Dark said. "I need you to be my eyes." He needed to check up on Mark. He couldn't do it himself because if Celine knew he was back, she wouldn't let him go and he would be just as trapped as Mark was.

Before the demon could say anything, Dark grabbed him by the head, focusing his power until he could see what the demon was seeing. Then Dark snapped his fingers and Armen disappeared.

He settled down to wait, but it wasn't long before Dark could see the familiar halls of that House through the demon's eyes. It was a little different than he remembered, but the layout was the same. So Mark knew his thoughts could influence the environment. That was quicker than expected.

Had Dark finally found HIM?

Armen came to a sudden stop and Dark recognized who had startled the demon: Sam and Dean Winchester.

Then suddenly Armen was gone in a flash of blood. Dark dropped to his knees, the severed connection making him feel like passing out. He didn't move until the feeling was gone.

"Come on out then."

Dark got to his feet and stepped out of the bathroom. Standing in the room were a few men, one of whom was dressed in white. Dark didn't know him, but his name suddenly came to mind:

Asmodeus.

* * *

"Your friends don't trust me."

Mark had expected Celine to finally start answering questions, but it didn't surprise him that she was going over this instead. "You haven't given us a reason to," he said, including himself. He wanted to trust her, but with so many things going unanswered...

"In another time, another world, I was in love with you," Celine said, picking up on his thoughts. "He was led astray by the dark forces surrounding this house. I was unfaithful and he desired revenge. The house wouldn't let him go until he fulfilled that lust for revenge.

"But things got out of hand," Celine went on. "He stole someone else's body and ran. Dark is after HIM. Dark believes he found his way into another world. Dark thinks you are HIM."

"But I'm not."

"He trapped you here to find out the truth," Celine said. "I helped a lot of Marks escape. Those Dark didn't manage to kill, of course."

"So he hasn't blocked you," Mark said. The look on her face told him he was right. "You helped others escape! Why not me?"

"None of the others could do what you can," Celine said. "You HAVE to be him!"

"If I was, I'd know -"

"Not if you purged your memories of -"

"That's insane!" Mark exclaimed, still feeling like he didn't understand everything. "If I was him, why hasn't Dark killed me? Why wait and make sure?"

"We've already established that he wants to put you through hell," Celine said. "The only explanation for why he's waiting is that he wants to make sure who you are so he can look you in the eye as he ruins your life."

"Get me back there!"

"I can't!"

"Bullshit!"

"I need you here," Celine said. "If you are him, Dark will have to pull you from this place himself. By coming here. Once he's here, I can trap him."

"Why do you want him trapped?"

"So I can save him," Celine said. "He wouldn't be where he is now without me. We were supposed to have been in this together!" When she started crying, Mark didn't know what to do. "He shouldn't have listened. Oh, Damien." The name was uttered under her breath, but he caught it.

Before he could say anything, he heard Sam and Dean calling out. Mark hesitated a moment, then left Celine where she was. He ran into Sam and Dean in the hallway.

"We had a visitor," Dean said. "He's dead now, but I think we're gonna have a bigger party next time."

"We need to get out of here," Sam said. "Is Celine -"

"She's not going to do anything to help," Mark said. "Not until Dark shows up, at least. And I don't think I can get us back in one piece."

Dean didn't try to hide the fact that he didn't like hearing any of that. "Then we make a stand," he said.

"Against someone who's powerful enough to get here?" Sam asked. "With no weapons? Dean -"

"He's right," Mark said. "If Dark's on his way, making a stand is the only thing we can do. Celine said she can trap him here."

"And get us home?"

Celine didn't really say that, but why would she need them once she had Dark? "Yeah," Mark said, just hoping that it would be true.

Dean still didn't trust her, that was evident. And he would probably not trust Mark if Celine didn't get them back home once Dark was here.

Hopefully Dark was the one on the way.


	10. Chapter 10

**C** **hapter Nine**

After Dark walked out, Amy didn't know what to do. She rubbed a hand against her throat, not knowing how or why she had grown at peace with the possibility of her own death. Unless she had a guardian angel watching over her. It was the only thing to explain why she kept surviving against Dark.

She got to her feet, using the computer screen to check for bruises on her neck. Fortunately, her neck bore only fading red marks from Dark's hand. His grip hadn't been hard enough to bruise. Which meant his intention hadn't been to kill her. And maybe she had picked up on that. She wouldn't throw away the guardian angel theory. She needed something to believe in if Sam and Dean weren't coming.

Amy turned her head when she heard voices coming from downstairs, but she didn't recognize it. She headed downstairs, stopping and sitting on the steps to listen in. She couldn't see anyone from her vantage point, so she hoped no one could see her either. There hadn't been a reaction to her presence yet, but that didn't mean anything if another demon had showed.

"...disappointing, really, that you chose to hide out here," the voice was saying. "instead of joining forces. You can do great things, boy."

"I wasn't planning on staying," Dark said. He was back under control, judging by the tone of his voice. She knew what she had said had gotten to him or else he wouldn't have walked out the way he had. She would have to tread a little more carefully next time.

"I would've expected you to be in a hurry to leave once Crowley was taken care of," the other said. "You don't seem like you're in a hurry. In fact, it looks to me like you're all settled in nice and proper."

Dark said nothing. She knew he was waiting for Mark to escape. She still wasn't sure why since he had gone through a lot to get Mark trapped in the first place.

"Did you think I wouldn't find you?" the other went on. "I've known of you since you got here. It's actually a please to meet you, to feel in person the power you're capable of. Have you forgotten that we're on the same side?"

"I'm only on my side," Dark said. To Amy, it sounded like there was more to that, but she knew he wouldn't admit it.

"Your friends are lost to you, Damien," the other said. _Damien?_ "You were alone the moment you gave in. Let the past go. I can give you so much more. You can rule in this world!"

"And if I refuse?"

There was a moment of silence and then Amy was suddenly standing, facing Dark. She thought about looking behind her, but then didn't as she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. A cold feeling went down her spine. Something told her that the person standing behind her was the one in charge of Hell.

"You can't barter her life for my cooperation," Dark said, not looking at Amy. "I was planning on killing her anyway." She knew that was true, but hearing it out loud now brought a fear Amy hadn't thought about.

"Really?" the other said, his fingers now running through her hair. "You've spent close to a year with this young lady. You've shared her bed. True, it was all a ruse to get her to believe you were someone else, but this last year has changed you. Dark is fading, isn't he?"

Dark showed no reaction. Amy couldn't tell what was going on behind those dark eyes. But then, she didn't know him that well.

Or did she? After all, she had spent the last year with him. Believing that he had been Mark, sure, but now that she knew, she could tell the difference. She had only put those differences off as Mark adjusting to life in a new body. Now that she knew, that train of thought seemed ridiculous. Deep down, she had known all along, but just ignored it. She ignored it because, in all appearances, Mark was back and that had been good enough for her. She could forget about the mess Dark made and get on with her life. She didn't want to concern herself with anything more because she hadn't wanted to go through that again.

If only she had asked Sam months ago to look into the reason why Mark's adjusting was taking so long. If she hadn't been so selfish, she could have gotten Mark back a long time ago.

"I know everything about you," the other said. "Where you came from, what you've done... Who you care for."

Dark finally looked at her. And for a split second, he was like an open book. Amy hadn't believed there was anything human left in Dark, if he had ever been human. But looking into his eyes, in that short moment, she had seen a glimpse of who he had once been. And that part of him...

Amy refused to think about any part of him. She couldn't forgive him for what he had done to Mark. To her. And even if he had replaced her memories, Amy still knew that Dark had tried to rape her. And pretending to be Mark for a year should make her hate him more.

But it didn't.

She had spent the last year with Dark. He had said he was tired of pretending, but _had kept pretending._ She might not want to believe it, but he wasn't the same Dark that trapped Mark only God knew where. His hate for Mark was still there, but that was it. The last year had softened him.

"You don't know anything about me," Dark all but growled. "I'm not giving you anything so you might as well kill her and go." That didn't sound like a bluff and Amy hoped this demon or whatever the hell he was had something else up his sleeve.

"That's admirable," the other said, both hands now resting on Amy's shoulders. "But weak. But so is protecting a loved one. No, Damien. I'm not gonna kill this fine young lady. Yet. I'm giving you a deadline. Join me or I'll have you hunted down. You have twenty-four hours."

The hands were gone. Amy turned to see that she and Dark were now the only ones here. She muttered a curse under her breath as her body started shaking, fear settling in.

"Dammit," Dark said, something in his voice she had never heard before. And it scared her. "This could have been avoided if you had just -"

She stopped shaking as her anger toward him took over. "Don't blame this on me," Amy said, tears starting to fall now. "You did this!" She walked up to him and slapped him. He didn't even flinch. "Why couldn't you have just left him alone?!"

Dark held his hand out; she quickly backed away. "If you knew him like I do, you'd thank me," he said. "I can show you."

"He's not who you think he is."

"You haven't seen what he can do."

Amy hated herself for listening to him. She knew he was wrong. She knew who Mark was. But she reached out and took Dark's hand anyway.

 _And in her mind's eye, she was somewhere different. She didn't recognize her surroundings but she recognized Mark. And Dark. They were friends._

 _But then something happened._

 _Mark betrayed them, stealing Dark's -DAMIEN'S- body and disappearing._

 _Then she saw Mark sitting under the stars with an unfamiliar woman. But then fire was everywhere, visibly scaring the woman before the fire was gone._

 _And then Mark was talking with Sam and Dean -_

Dark let go of her hand. "Mark has the same potential as HE does," he said. "If he's not who I'm looking for, he's still a danger to you."

"You put him there," Amy said. "You gave him that power." Seeing Mark again after so long... She stopped and looked at him. "Why? To give you an excuse to kill him?"

"It's just a test."

"He's been there for a year!" Amy said. She hit him again and he let her. "It's not a damn test! You just want to be with me!" She kept hitting him until her arms were tired. "He's not who you say he is!" She collapsed crying, not caring that he had caught her.

"He was right," Dark said after what felt like an eternity of silence. "Dark is fading."

"I hate you," Amy murmured. Nothing he said would make her feel sorry for him.

"Then hate me," Dark said. "But I can prove to you that he's not who you think he is."

Then they vanished.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Ten**

Sam and Dean had gone off in search of anything that could be used as a weapon. Mark was pretty sure both of them had at least one gun on them, but Dark had already proved that gunshots didn't take him down. Mark could still remember how being shot felt since he and Dark had been sharing a body at that point, but Dark had been about to rape Amy so the son of a bitch had deserved to get shot.

Mark didn't go back to talk to Celine. She wouldn't help anyway, so he went back to the room he had been in when he got here. The same room he had been taken to when he accidentally brought Sam and Dean here.

He brought a chair with him and now placed it in the center of the room and sat down. He took a few deep breaths to settle his mind, letting his mind focus on the power surrounding this place.

If he had to guess, this room was the actual doorway to other worlds. Celine had told him she could get him into any other world besides his own, but had she really meant that if her intention all along was to use him to get Dark? If she hadn't lied about Dark blocking her, then maybe Mark could have trusted her. Instead, she had chosen to keep things from him.

"If you've been through something like this as many times as I have, you'd become closed off to people, too."

Mark didn't turn, waiting until Celine came around to stand in front of him. "You have every reason not to trust me," she said. "But you were willing to do something to get back home."

That moment on the tower now seemed like a lifetime ago. But he remembered what he had been willing to do: relive what Dark had put him through. He had believed she would use those memories to create a door to his world. Now that he knew she wasn't blocked, what purpose did those memories serve?

"I thought if you dug too deep you could end up paralyzing me," Mark said. Dark had messed with his memories, giving him those dreams about his accident, but Mark hadn't even thought about that in a while. He wasn't affected by it anymore.

"You have a purpose now," Celine said, feeling his thoughts again. "You were debilitated by those memories because you had lost all hope. But now that you brought the Winchesters-"

"And that you lied to me."

Celine paused, but otherwise didn't react to his words. "Getting back is now within your reach, so you have hope," she said. "But I still need you to do that one thing for me. Your memories of the accident can't affect you -"

"Why do you need me to do it?"

"You and Dark inhabited the same body for over a week," Celine said. "I need to see if there was any recognition of who you both were before. If you're HIM."

"And if there's not?"

"Then Dark will keep searching if you don't stop him here."

Mark hesitated for a moment then nodded, giving his assent. She brought a chair over and sat down in front of him and held out her hands. Calming his mind, he took her hands and closed his eyes, remembering back to the days he and Dark spent together, in this body.

There was nothing other than the fact that Mark had gotten the feeling that Crowley knew everything about Dark.

"You thought Dark was afraid of Crowley," Celine said once she was done sifting through his memories. She didn't let Mark respond to that. "If he was or not, Crowley's dead. I got that much from Sam and Dean's thoughts."

"So I'm not HIM."

Celine even looked disappointed about that. "There should have been some form of recognition if you were," she said. "After all, HE took Damien's body."

"And Damien...is Dark?"

"He was," Celine said, letting go of Mark's hands. "Damien may be just as lost as that Mark is."

"That won't stop Dark."

Celine shook her head.

They both got to their feet as the room around them changed then righted itself. Nothing had changed except one thing: Dark was standing there.

With Amy.

* * *

Everything was moving so fast. One moment, Amy and Dark were at the office, the next moment they were somewhere else, standing in front of Mark. She knew it was Mark only because Dark was still beside her.

Then Sam and Dean were there. Both of them had their guns out as they came in and spotted Dark.

But Mark was the first to react.

Amy didn't know what he did, but she was suddenly knocked off her feet by a force that sent Dark flying across the room and into a wall, knocking down a painting. She barely missed falling against a chair. She used it to get to her feet, looking over at Mark, who was just standing there, staring at Dark. Her brief soreness was forgotten as she saw the look in his eyes: darkness. His eyes weren't a solid black, but there was something dark inside him.

Dean had moved past and was yanking Dark to his feet, shoving him against the wall. "You son of a -"

Dark didn't lift a hand, but Dean was shoved away from him. Amy saw Mark tense for action. Sam was raising his gun -

Amy went over to stand in front of Dark. Everyone finally stopped. "We didn't come here for a fight," she said, though she wouldn't be surprised if Dark was looking for a fight as well as proving to her who Mark was. "A fight will just make everything worse."

"You're defending him." Mark's words told Amy that everything was already worse.

"I'm not," Amy said, feeling Dark standing closer behind her. By the look on Mark's face, she was obviously looking too comfortable with being around Dark. And Dark would be flaunting that.

He had said Dark was fading, but around Mark he was apparently coming back. Whatever Dark felt toward her would now be used against Mark. Dark was deadset on proving Mark was dangerous. What better way to prove that than to move in on Mark's girlfriend?

Amy moved to step away from Dark, but he put one arm around her waist and pulled her back against him, grinding up against her in the process. Mark started to intervene but stopped by Sam's hand on his shoulder.

Dean had gotten to his feet. He looked betrayed as he looked at Amy, then that look turned into anger. "Whether or not you're here for it, you're getting a fight," he said. Amy recognized what Dean now held in his hand: an angel blade. He had come prepared.

Dark laughed. "This is my domain," he said. "Do you really think you can do anything to me here?"

"I can." The woman who was standing beside Mark spoke up. "You know I can, Damien."

"Don't call me that," Dark said, the anger in his voice proving that Dark was no longer fading. Amy had gotten a glimpse of Damien, but now he was gone. "You trap me, you trap everyone else. You really think they're willing to pay that price?"

"I am," Mark said, but no one else said a word. He looked at the woman. "Do it."

Dark's hold on Amy tightened. "No one is as willing as you, Mark," he said, making Mark's name sound like a curse. "You want that burden on your shoulders?"

"You'll be stopped," Mark said. "I can live with that."

"But some of us can't," Sam said. Mark looked at him. "I hate to disagree, but we have responsibilities we can't ignore. If we do, it'll be worse than whatever Dark could have done."

"Dark can open doors to different worlds," the woman said. Amy immediately didn't trust her. "He can unleash -"

"He's ONLY after Mark," Sam said. "He's only ever been after Mark."

Dean started toward Dark and Amy, angel blade raised. "This can be settled -" He stopped, but Dark hadn't moved. Dark seemed surprised that Dean had stopped.

Dean strained against what was holding him back, but gave up after a moment. "I would've thought you'd want him dead," he said. He was talking to Mark.

"He's the only one who knows how to get out of here," Mark said. He had calmed down, but there was no way of knowing what else he was capable of. Amy didn't like thinking it, but she was more afraid of Mark than Dark right now.

The woman beside Mark started to say something, but didn't. Amy wouldn't trust anything that came out of her mouth anyway, but maybe that was just her jealousy reacting to her. She didn't like the idea of the woman being here as long as Mark had, but it was obvious she had been by the way they acted around each other.

But Amy did pick up on Mark's current distrust of the woman, which was good. But it didn't change the fact that there was still something between them.

Amy was now more aware of Dark's arm around her waist, his body against hers. A lot had changed in the last year. She hoped everything went back to normal after this.

If Mark made it out as Mark.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Eleven**

Mark left the room. He needed to get away from it all before he ended up doing something he'd regret. Seeing Amy with Dark's arm around her like that made him want to do something. He believed he could do anything he wanted here so that was why he had left the room. But the second he was alone, all he could think about was Amy being with Dark this whole time. Had she known? Surely not. If she had, she never would have let Dark get close. Dark had tried to rape her, after all.

Then his thoughts returned to Dark having his arm around her a few minutes ago. Amy had tried to move away at first, but she had defended Dark before that. And then hadn't looked bothered at all at his touch.

 _She had fallen for Dark._

That was something he didn't want to think about, but he couldn't ignore it. The atmosphere of the room turned dark, but he didn't care. He was angry and he would take it out on himself before he even thought about harming Amy. She was a victim in this. It wasn't her fault. Dark was to blame.

But a thought kept coming back to him that Amy had known she had been with Dark the whole time and hadn't cared. Had she thought she was better off without Mark? After all, if it hadn't been for him, she never would have gotten mixed up with Dark in the first place.

So she'd rather be with Dark?

"Mark?"

Mark turned at the sound of Amy's voice. And as he did so, the room reverted to its original state. He could see that the change had startled Amy. She had started to walk in further, but had now stopped.

 _She's afraid of me._

Amy stood there, hands at her sides and tears forming in her eyes. Mark had been longing to see her again for so long, but would never have wanted their reunion to be like this. She never should have gotten pulled into this.

"I'm sorry," Mark began then she ran across the room and into his arms, kissing him hard. He wrapped his arms around her and everything else was forgotten.

* * *

Dark didn't seem bothered by the way Dean was staring at him. But, Dark had said they couldn't do anything to him here so there wasn't anything Dark needed to worry about. Even with the threat of Celine trapping him here. But she wouldn't do that. Not with all of them here. But she had almost done it at Mark's request.

Sam was glad he had been able to talk Mark out of doing that.

Leaving Dean to keep an eye on Dark (Dean wouldn't have let anyone else keep on eye on him), Sam walked over to Celine, who was standing off to the side and was also watching Dark.

"Is it true?" Sam asked, keeping his voice low. He only wanted to talk to her. "Is Dark the only one who can get us out of here like Mark said?" When Mark had said that, Celine looked about ready to protest which was why Sam was asking now.

"Mark doesn't trust me so he doesn't believe I'd help get him home," Celine said, looking away from Dark and meeting Sam's gaze.

Sam saw the truth in her eyes. "You don't want Mark to leave," he said. The way she looked away confirmed what he said was true. "Why?"

"Dark has been looking for the Mark that stole his body and screwed him over years ago," Celine explained. "There's no proof, but I can make Dark believe that he's found him."

"Are you just saying that so Dark can finally stop what he's been doing to Mark?" Sam asked. "Or do you believe he is the Mark Dark's looking for?"

"You saw what he can do," Celine said, looking back at him. "That level of power could only come from someone who's had _years_ of practice."

"Or he just had the right motivation," Sam said since Mark had used his powers against Dark when he had seen Dark with Amy. "Don't let your feelings for Mark -"

"You don't understand what I feel," Celine said. "There's been nothing between me and Mark for a long time. I left him for a reason."

"Which proves this Mark isn't that Mark," Sam said. "You've been with him here for a year. You know he isn't that Mark."

Celine looked away once more, but he knew he got her thinking. He left her alone and walked back over to Dean.

"We don't need him," Dean said, crossing his arms. He didn't seem to care if Dark could hear him or not. "Mark got us here, Mark can get us out. We can kill Dark and Mark can get us back home."

"Celine might say otherwise," Sam said. "Don't forget that she has the power to trap us here."

"She listens to Mark."

"She has no plans of letting Mark go."

"Then she can leave with us."

"She can't," Dark said. Sam and Dean looked at him. "She didn't tell you? She doesn't have a body back in the real world. She's been dead a while. She can only live here."

Sam looked over at Celine, who said nothing. He looked back at Dark. "She can always take your body," he said, knowing he would piss Dark off. It'd be an excuse to get rid of him if he came at them. "I heard people like to do that to you."

Dark didn't even react. "She likes it here, why would she leave?" he said then looked at Celine. "She can relive her life as many times as she wants."

"Taking her out with us would be a mercy kill then," Dean said. "Being dead is better than living in hell." The two brothers had been to Hell enough times to know that Celine could be pardoned and taken up to Heaven.

If not and if she decided to leave with them, Sam would make sure she didn't get sent to Hell.

Sam was a bit surprised by Dean's attitude toward Celine now since he had been so against her the entire time they had been here. But maybe that attitude change was what was needed to get her help. They'd give her an escape from Dark and a life away from this personal hell. Hopefully she would take the offer if the time came.

"She still plans on redeeming Damien," Dark said, looking at Celine with an evil grin. "We both know she isn't going anywhere." It was the first time Sam and Dean had heard the name. Sam put it together that Dark's name used to be Damien. He knew he didn't have to tell Dean that.

"We made the mistake of not making sure you were dead," Dean said. They had been tricked into believing he was Mark because of the way Chica had reacted. They should have tried something else besides the dog. They should have known better! "There's nothing redeemable about you."

"Damien might say otherwise," Dark said, looking at the Winchesters. "I almost let him go."

"Almost?"

"It's the problem with being human," Dark said. "I made the mistake of letting it go on."

Sam chose not to say anything, but there was a possibility of redeeming Dark. Damien. If what Dark said was true. But the odds of Dark slipping up again were low. And maybe it wasn't even possible here with those dark forces surrounding the place for Dark to feed on. But it was something Sam would remember.

"Good to know you fuck up just as much as everyone else," Dean said.

"I didn't have a lot of options," Dark said. "The demons of your world are obsessed with the prospect of other worlds, different dimensions. It was hard to keep a low profile."

"You have that power," Sam said. "You could have ruled over them with that."

"I was told I could rule," Dark said. "It would have meant nothing because I would have still been taking orders from someone. They can have their Hell. While I have any world, any time, at my fingertips." As if to prove a point, he opened a portal, showing several different worlds before closing it.

"But yet you only go after Mark."

"For revenge," Dark said. "I won't be doing that forever. I will find -"

"No, you won't, Damien," Celine said, stepping forward. "You'll never find him because he's dead."

Then, she added: "I killed him."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Twelve**

Mark held Amy close as they kissed, ignoring the fact that this private moment was being spent with the door wide open. Anyone could walk in at any time. If they felt the need to search him or Amy out. But everyone would be keeping a close eye on Dark.

Then a feeling came over him and he knew Celine was aware of what was happening between him and Amy right now. She could feel his thoughts, his desire for Amy, and that made her angry, he could feel it. It might even push her to do something...

Mark cursed under his breath as he broke away from Amy, noticing that the room had changed, practically pulsating from the passion he had felt. Amy didn't notice because the room was quickly back to normal as soon as he had noticed.

"Mark?" Amy asked, moving toward him but stopped when he held his hand out toward her. "What is it?"

"It's Celine," Mark said. "She's in my head. She -"

Then sudden rage blasted through the room, knocking Mark to his knees. Amy hadn't felt it, but she was at his side in the next moment. The rage hadn't been from Celine, but directed at her. Mark could taste Dark's anger. Something was about to happen.

Mark grabbed Amy's hand as he stood and they left the room together.

* * *

Dark couldn't hold back the anger he felt as he heard what Celine said. She didn't even flinch and continued to stare him down. "You're lying!" he shouted, anger came off of him in dark waves, surrounding the room. "You've never had the strength to kill him."

"You know I'm not lying," Celine said. She turned her head when Mark and Amy walked into the room holding hands. Celine was often good at hiding her feelings, but Dark knew her better than anyone.

"You bitch," Dark said. Celine looked back at him and the look in her eyes said she knew Dark knew how she felt about Mark. "You lie just so you can be with him!" He started forward but then stopped when Mark stepped between her and Dark. Amy remained standing away from the others.

"I had to do what I had to," Celine said. "If you ever caught up to him, there would be more harm done than good. So I tracked him down and killed him." The more she said it, the more it became clear that she was lying. After all, if Dark hadn't managed to find him, how could she?

And even if Mark wasn't who Dark had been looking for, Dark could still show Amy what kind of monster Mark could be in any world.

Using the darkness growing around them as a weapon, Dark attacked Mark, dropping him to his knees. Mark was taken aback, but he began to push back. It was his instinct to fight back.

Unfortunately, Dark didn't get the chance to push Mark further. Dark heard a gunshot then pain lanced through his side and he couldn't concentrate on his attack against Mark.

The darkness faded as Dark stumbled back. He could feel the wound healing, but slowly and painfully. He looked at the Winchesters. Dean still had his gun up. Of course Dean had been the one to shoot him. But, here in his domain, a gunshot shouldn't have even been able to hurt him. Dark then looked at Celine, who met his gaze, darkness in her eyes and he knew she had been the one to let the shot wound him. She was even slowing the healing process. Letting him know she was capable of letting him die?

Dark growled low in his throat then cried out in pain as the bullet that was lodged inside him was painfully ripped out at the point of entry. Dark dropped to the floor, a hand against his bleeding side.

Dark didn't have to look to know that Amy had almost moved to protect him. He smiled then chuckled, ignoring the pain it caused.

"What the hell are you laughing at, son of a bitch?" Dean asked, his finger slightly tightening on the trigger. A gunshot wouldn't kill him, but if Celine was mad enough she could make Dark wish he could die.

"I win again," Dark said then looked at Mark and Amy. "Good luck with trying to get back to a normal life," he said. "If you ever get out of here."

Before anyone could do anything, Dark opened a portal and escaped into another world.

* * *

Realizing that Dark was gone took a moment to sink in. Mark couldn't believe that Dark had given up that easily. Not after everything Dark had gone through and put them through.

But he was gone.

Mark turned to Celine. "Where'd he go?" he asked since she was the most practiced to view different worlds.

Celine was silent for a moment then shook her head. "He's hiding," she said. "But he didn't go back to your world. I would've felt that."

"How would you know that if he's hiding?" Dean asked.

Amy was the one to speak up about that. "Dark got a visit from the guy who's now in charge of Hell," she said. Everyone looked at her. "He gave Dark a deadline to join him or be hunted down. Dark said he was on no one's side but his own. He won't go back there." Mark didn't like how well she knew Dark.

But he pushed those feelings of jealousy aside. Amy probably felt the same way toward Celine as he did Dark. Except he didn't have any feelings for Celine.

"Also," Amy added, hesitant but she forced herself to keep going. "His human side was overpowering him there. As long as he's Dark, he'll avoid our world." It sounded like she believed there was a chance at redemption for Dark.

And maybe there was, but Mark hoped he would never see Dark again.

"Your plan didn't work," Sam said to Celine. "You were lying when you said you killed that Mark, right?"

Celine nodded. "I thought I'd get a reaction that meant it was over for him," she said. She looked at Mark. "He still believes you're him. He might come back for you."

Mark thought for a moment. "You said you could trap him here," he said. She looked apologetic that she hadn't managed to do that. "Do you have the power to erase the doorway to our world?"

"Not on this side of the door," Celine said. "But you heard Dark. If I leave here, I'll die."

"Then teach me."

"Unless you really are Him, you'd no longer be connected to this power when you leave," Celine said. It sounded like she was just making an excuse. She still wanted to keep him here.

"What if you borrowed a body?" Sam asked. "You'll be able to cross over afterwards. We'll make sure you get a happy ending."

"But what about Dark?"

"Haven't you wasted enough time hoping?" Mark asked. "Damien no longer exists. He'll make sure what happened with Amy never happens again."

"We've been searching for that Mark together," Celine said. "He needs me." A reminder that she wasn't on their side no matter what she said.

"Does this life make you happy?"

Celine turned away from him, looking around the room, silent for a few minutes. "It all started in this house," she said. "It's only fitting for it to end here." She turned back to Mark and the others. "I can trap myself here and prevent anyone from using this place as a door. Dark will still be able to travel between worlds, but it'll be at random."

"What kind of life -"

"I'm already dead," Celine said, cutting him off. "Trapped here for eternity is a just punishment. I deserve far worse for what I've done."

"I'd go after him," Amy said. Everyone turned and looked at her. She kept her eyes locked on Celine. "We have no way of coming here to make sure she's trapped herself. She even said that Dark needs her." She looked at Mark. "Can we trust that she won't go after Dark? Help him screw us over again?"

"I thought you were confident that he would avoid your world," Celine said.

"I still stand by that," Amy said. "But if he teamed up with you?"

"He won't trust me after what happened here," Celine said. She looked at Mark. "I'm in love with the enemy after all."

The confession made Mark uncomfortable. She knew his thoughts, so she knew he didn't feel the same way. If she hadn't been in his head the whole time, it never would have happened. But she had gotten to know him through his thoughts for a year.

Amy came up beside him, taking his hand. Was she worried that he would tell Celine he felt the same?

 _If you did, she would have an excuse to let you go,_ Celine said in his head. _You two have a lot to work through._

Celine opened a portal then stepped to the side. "I'll need to close every door as soon as possible," she said. "You can go now." Her eyes met Mark's.

If you love something, let it go. If it loves you back, it'll return. Wasn't that how the saying went?

Then Mark suddenly understood. It wasn't him that she was in love with. It was that other Mark. The one Dark was going after. The Mark she had been in love with before she ran off with William. Being with Mark for the last year made her miss what she once had.

The moment Mark walked through the portal, it would no longer be his problem. He could get back to his life. A year overdue, but it was his life and he missed being normal.

Celine understood and she was letting him go.

"You better go before I change my mind," Celine said.

Sam and Dean went through the portal first. Amy hesitated then followed. Mark started to follow but stopped when Celine touched his arm.

"I'll make sure he won't come after you," Celine said. She continued before he could say anything. "I can close the doors, but I can also open them back." She reached up and kissed him on the lips then smiled. "You should learn not to trust me."

So she was going after Dark. It was just easier for everyone else to think Dark was lost forever.

"Be careful," Mark said. She nodded and he stepped through the portal. He would probably never see her again, but there was nothing wrong with hoping they would cross paths again one day somehow.

But for now, he put that out of his mind.

He was back home.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Just to let you guys know, there's gonna be just a couple more chapters of this. If you have any questions so far, I'll answer them in the next update. Also, would you like to read a sequel to this? It would focus more on Dark's mission of finding that other Mark. Hopefully that part of this story wasn't too confusing for you guys. I'd be fine with writing a third installment of this little series, but I wanna know if you'd wanna read it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Thirteen**

Traveling through the portal was a lot different than when Dark transported them to the world between worlds. Then, it had just been from one place to the next all of a sudden. Going through the portal was like going from one place then through a series of worlds before Amy stepped out in the familiarity of Markiplier HQ.

Not knowing what led her to do it, Amy stepped over to a computer to check the time and date. If they had been gone longer than intended...

The time was only a few minutes after she had sent Tyler, Ethan, and Kathryn out so she could talk to Dark. According to the time, the talk with Dark never happened. So there was no longer a deadline given by the new ruler of Hell.

Celine had rolled back the clock. Amy would have preferred if she had given back the entire year, but maybe Celine wasn't that powerful. Or Celine knew what had developed between Amy and Dark and hoped that would strain the relationship between Mark and Amy.

She and Mark had a lot to work out.

Amy turned when Sam and Dean arrived. She suddenly remembered the call she had made and then the hopelessness she had felt when they hadn't shown up. If she had known it was because they had gotten trapped with Mark, she never would have had the fleeting thought that they couldn't help. It was something she had thought a year ago as well when they had brought up the possibility of being unable to save Mark.

Sam and Dean took less time to recover from the trip through the portal. She got the feeling that they had done similar traveling in the past.

As Sam and Dean talked to each other, Amy waited for Mark to show. She was starting to get worried, but breathed a silent sigh of relief when he arrived a few minutes later.

He took even more time to recover. But that was understandable after being away from the real world for an entire year. He probably felt the lack of power he had become accustomed to.

They had a hell of a lot to work through.

Amy moved over to Mark and hugged him, relaxing into his arms as he hugged her back.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Dean said. Mark and Amy turned to look at the Winchesters. "We just want to be extra sure we're not making the same mistake as last time."

They had all seen Dark vanish into a portal, but they had also watched "Dark" get stabbed by the angel Castiel. She hoped Mark was willing to go along with whatever Sam and Dean had planned. Being cooperative would be one way to show that he really was Mark this time.

Hopefully they weren't counting on the Chica Test again.

"We know Dark's different than other demons we've dealt with," Sam said. "But some tricks DID work. Like the Devil's Trap."

"We'll try a few other tricks as well," Dean said. "Then hopefully we'll be out of your hair for good."

"I'll go set up the Trap," Sam said then left the room. Amy hoped it would clean up better than last time. There had still been faint stains on the floor at the house when she and Dark had gotten an apartment together.

She cringed at the thought then hated herself for not actually being bothered that much anymore about what she and Dark had done when she thought he was Mark.

Dean looked at Mark. "We'll come get you when we're ready," he said then left the same way Sam had.

They were giving Mark and Amy space and time to talk.

They were silent for a moment then Amy reached over and took Mark's hand. "You've got a lot of catching up to do," she said.

"Celine kind of filled me in on the basics as I traveled through the portal," Mark said. Amy looked away at the mention of Celine. She started to pull her hand away, but Mark squeezed her hand gently, stopping her. "Nothing happened between me and Celine like you think it did."

"You don't know what I'm thinking," Amy said. Mark said nothing, but he didn't have to. "I wouldn't have blamed you if something had. I did sleep with Dark, after all."

"Just sleep?"

Amy was silent for a moment. She couldn't meet his eyes. "I thought he was you," she said. "It was a year. Surely you wouldn't expect me -"

"I did."

"But it wasn't an entire year for you," Amy said. "And I didn't know. Dark replaced my memories of him raping me. So there wouldn't have been any recognition in any intimate moment."

"That's probably why he replaced your memories," Mark said. "So you wouldn't realize he wasn't me."

Amy had already figured that, but she was still finding herself wanting to deny it. She had seen Dark's human side. The part of him that cared.

"Just tell me you didn't love him."

"I don't," Amy said. "But something did happen."

Mark didn't look like he liked that at all, but he wasn't blaming her for anything. If he knew all of her thoughts on the matter, he probably would have. But, all in all, Dark was to blame.

"Are you saying you could have loved him?" Mark asked, visibly bracing himself for her answer.

Amy wouldn't lie to him. "If Dark had dragged it on any longer, yes I would have," she said. "And I don't think I would have regretted it." Her heart broke a little at the look of hurt on his face. And that little emotion proved to her that Dark hadn't captured her heart completely. "Seeing you with Celine almost pushed me into it." She hoped he could see that she wasn't blaming him with what she had said. Jealousy made a lot of people make foolish decisions.

Especially when it concerned someone they truly loved and adored.

"I think Celine was hoping for that," Mark said. "She's lonely and tired of everything Dark put her through. She needed someone and I was there."

"And nothing happened between you two?"

"I don't know if anything could have or not," Mark said with a shrug. "Everything she said and did pushed me further away. If she had just been honest..." He trailed off then shook his head and looked at Amy. "Nothing would have happened. I was always thinking about you."

"Trying to make me feel guilty?"

"Dark's persuasive," Mark said. "I gave him what he wanted."

"I didn't, when he wanted it," Amy said, though she would have been lying if she said she hadn't been tempted. The way his arm had been around her earlier was something she wouldn't forget.

But that feeling was overpowered by the memory of Mark's kiss once they had been reunited.

Mark pulled her against him and put his arms around her. Amy leaned into him, clinging to him. She wouldn't mind as much attention from Mark as possible. And he didn't seem to mind giving it. Too much time had been spent apart. They would need each other to heal that rift. The attention so far was working wonders.

They were going to be fine.

* * *

Mark stood in the center of the Devil's Trap Sam and Dean had set up. The last time he had been in a similar situation, he and Dark had been inhabiting the same body. And Dark's escape then had given Mark a glimpse at Dark's human side.

Dark could have killed Ryan and boasted about it, but he had left Ryan alone. Mark had been an influence in saving Ryan's life, but if there hadn't been something human in Dark, Ryan would be dead right now. Just like those doctors at the hospital. And the six other victims Dark had used.

Mark's attention was brought back to the present when Dean shot him in the face with a water gun. "What the hell?!"

"Holy water," Dean said then sprayed Mark a few more times. "Just to make sure. We never used holy water on Dark, so we're not even sure if it'd work." Mark raised his hands to protect his face when Dean moved to shoot him again.

Sam took the water gun from Dean, who looked disappointed by the toy being taken away. "I think it's safe to say that he's Mark this time," he said then looked at Mark. "Any after effects of those powers you used?"

Mark shook his head. "Celine was right," he said. "As soon as I went through that portal, the power was gone. The memory of how it felt is even fading." He did have a moment of loss about it, but he was sure that that would fade in time as well.

"And your dreams? They're gone?"

Mark still remembered that clearly. "I think so," he said. "I won't know for sure until I sleep."

"If they cause any problems, let us know," Sam said. Mark had told them about how Dark had messed with his brain, giving him those dreams about his accident in vivid detail. And how Celine had said those dreams would paralyze him if she pulled anything from it. "Dark might have done more damage than you think."

"I know you've had plenty of time to heal," Dean said. "But you got stabbed with an angel blade. Fatally. If you were dead going in..."

"I should've been dead coming out," Mark said. It was similar with Celine. She was dead, so she would be dead if she ever left. "Dark didn't want me dead right away. He wanted me to see him ruin everything, so I think he healed me. I remembered getting stabbed, but when I showed up there, I was fine."

"Let's hope Dark wasn't so lucky," Dean said. "Celine can say all she wants that Dark will never come back, but I'll believe that when I see it."

"Amy's confident he won't."

"She was also confident that you were you this last year," Dean said. "If ANYTHING weird happens, let us know."

"Anything supernatural weird," Sam put in. He obviously knew enough about Mark to know that weird was a normal fixture in Mark's life. "If so, call us before your eyes turn black."

"I promise," Mark said, stepping out of the Devil's Trap. It was obvious that the two brothers expected him to be trapped, but he was able to step out of the markings on the floor. "Sorry I got you guys into this mess."

"Are you kidding?" Dean said. "Without us, you would've battled Dark to the death over who got Amy."

Mark didn't want to be reminded of that. He had gotten too close to losing Amy. He wasn't sure of what had pushed events to unfold the way they had, but he was grateful for it. If he had lost Amy, he probably would have listened to Celine and accepted his fate.

But that wasn't like him. If someone told him no, he would prove that he deserved a yes. If he had lost Amy, he never would have accepted it.

"You don't think I'd win?" Mark asked, taking the towel Sam held out to dry off the holy water Dean had sprayed him with.

"I wouldn't have bet on you," Dean said. "But I don't know what you could have been capable of doing."

From the memory of the power that hadn't yet faded, Mark was pretty sure he could have become unstoppable.

But would Celine have let him get that far? She hadn't wanted him to take her Mark's path in life: A dark path with no hope of recovery. Just like Damien. And probably whoever else had come in contact with that house before it became the door between worlds.

"You would've kicked his ass," Sam said to Mark. "In the end, good always triumphs over evil."

"Not sure how good I would've been if I had stayed any longer," Mark said. He would probably always remember how much he had wanted more power. He shook his head. "Putting an idiot in charge of that kind of power is a bad idea."

"You survived it," Sam said. "Maybe you're not as big an idiot as you think."

"We should get going," Dean said after a moment of silence. "It's a long trip back without the impala." He looked aggravated about the car being left behind in Kansas. His aggravation only made Sam and Mark laugh.

"Yeah, laugh it up," Dean said then gathered up the items they used and left the room. Sam laughed a bit more then knelt down to clean up the Devil's Trap. Mark knelt down to help.


	15. Chapter 15

**Epilogue**

Mark and Amy stood outside as Sam and Dean got ready to leave. Another hunter friend of theirs was giving them a ride back to Kansas. Mark had already said his goodbyes, but Amy wanted to see them off.

Amy gave Sam a hug. Mark would have to ask her later how they had become so friendly with each other. He wasn't jealous. A year away, but he could still tell when Amy liked someone as just a friend.

Dean, on the other hand, seemed estranged toward her. Because of the way Amy had defended Dark. Dean didn't seem like the type that was quick to forgive, but he appeared to be warming up to it now that Mark and Amy were back where they belonged.

"If you hear anything from Asmodeus, let us know," Sam said, speaking mostly to Amy. She had seen Asmodeus, after all, even though she hadn't known his name. "He might pay a visit if he doesn't know Dark's gone."

"He already knew Dark was here," Amy said. "He might have found out Dark was gone before we did." It sounded like Asmodeus had really scared her. Mark wished he had been here for her then.

Dark better be glad that Mark wasn't holding a grudge against him. Mark had every reason to go after Dark. But Mark had his life back. That was all that he had wanted anyway.

Celine would make sure Dark got what he deserved.

"We better go," Dean said, patting Sam on the back. "Hopefully the bunker's still in one piece."

"It'll be fine," Sam assured him. He waved to Mark and Amy then headed for the car.

"We better not ever get another urgent call," Dean said, looking at the two of them. "Stay safe, okay?"

"As safe as we can be," Mark said. "You make sure the world doesn't end."

"Saving the world is hard," Dean said. "Please don't get it into your heads that you can help."

"No worries there," Mark said. "I'm happy with my life the way it was."

"Yeah, the sooner we're gone, the better," Dean said then bade them goodbye and followed after Sam.

Amy stepped closer to Mark as the hunters drove away. "Ready to get back to your life?" she asked.

"So ready," Mark said. "But there's something I've gotta do first." They turned together and went inside.

* * *

Sitting in front of a camera again was a strange experience after being away fro a year. But at least it had only been a year. Any longer and Mark might have come back to a newer team. Thankfully, they were still people he knew. Kathryn had been fixing to join the team when he left. He had already met and became friends with Ethan, so him joining the team was no surprise. And, of course, he had known Tyler since they were kids. And though he wanted to tell them everything, Amy urged him not to. They had thought Dark was Mark. Dark hadn't done anything to them, so it was best if they didn't know.

But Mark still felt like he needed to tell them something. Which was why he gathered everyone together in the room. Because whatever he said to the team deserved to be told to his fans.

According to Amy, Dark had still recorded videos for the last year. Mark would probably never learn why Dark had lived his life as Mark so willingly. He didn't know at the moment what kind of videos Dark had recorded, but once Mark started back into it, they might be different from what Dark had done.

Mark and Amy were the only ones sitting in front of the camera. Tyler, Ethan, and Kathryn didn't know yet what they were called in for and Mark hadn't took the time to make room in front of the camera. If he waited too long, he might forget what he wanted to say. And if he didn't forget, he could ask them to stand behind him and Amy when he was through with talking to the fans directly.

Amy held his hand off camera, letting him know, silently, that she was there for him.

"Hey, guys," Mark started with a wave of his hand. "I don't want to take up too much time, but I felt like I needed to address something. Not only to you guys, but to the people I work with as well. It's something that's been weighing on me.

"The last year, I've been living as if I were an entirely different person," Mark went on. Wording it that way was the easiest way to tell everyone the truth without revealing anything about Dark. "As a lot of you know, last year I spent time in the hospital after a near fatal accident. I wasn't expected to make it." He glanced over at Amy, seeing in her eyes that she was trying not to relive those moments of essentially just waiting for Mark to die.

"I changed," Mark said, looking back into the camera. "And I've had a real struggle with some stuff since then. A struggle I hid from everyone, even the people closest to me.

"Then earlier today, Amy cornered me and got me to talk," Mark said, remembering Amy's story of getting the others to leave so she could talk to Dark. "We worked some things out, but there's still some ways to go." Amy slipped her arm through his and scooted closer to him.

"Normally, I wouldn't make a video about something like this," Mark said. "But it needed to be said. Videos from now on might be different than they have been this year." He shrugged his shoulders. "Or they could be of the same shit quality as always." There were a few chuckles around the room.

"I just wanna say I'm sorry to anybody who might have taken my actions the wrong way this past year," Mark continued after a moment of silence. "I'm grateful to everybody who's stuck by me. I'm grateful for a girlfriend..." He looked at Amy. "...who saw through me before it was too late and brought me out of the black hole I dug myself into." She smiled, tears in her eyes, and he smiled back. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek then looked back at the camera.

He waved for the others to join them on camera. "I'm looking forward to what the future brings," Mark said. "Expect some awesome content as I work with these guys to come up with something you guys might enjoy seeing. I'm excited for that." The others all nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for listening," Mark said. "And, as always, we will see you in the next video. Buh-bye!"

They all waved then the video faded to black.

* * *

 **The End?**

 **Author's Note:** I originally had a different sequel to this, but I had to do a rewrite. The official next one is titled: In the Mind (of Demons)


End file.
